It was suggested earlier this year that Candy Crush Saga studio King was preparing an initial public offering. Now the company has gone ahead with its IPO plans, filing paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the U.S.

As reported by The Telegraph, the British company has quietly handed over its S-1 form to the SEC -- the filing used to register business and financial securities in the U.S.

When King eventually floats on the Nasdaq exchange, it will be one of the biggest IPOs to come out of a UK-based tech company in years. The Telegraph reports that the firm could be valued at around $5 billion. This compares to Zynga's IPO valuation of $7 billion back in 2011.

A spokesperson for King told Gamasutra, "we're not commenting on any IPO questions I'm afraid."

[Update: This article originally stated that Zynga's IPO was valued at $1 billion, when in actual fact the figure was $7 billion. Apologies for the error.]